Auditory scene analysis is the process by which the human auditory system organizes sound into perceptually meaningful elements. The three key aspects of the auditory scene analysis model are: segmentation, integration, and segregation. Auditory scene analysis addresses the problem of hearing in complex auditory environments. It uses a series of creative analogies to describe the process required of the human auditory system as it analyzes mixtures of sounds to recover descriptions of individual sounds.
In a clinical setting, the medical professional that listens to body sounds, for example, breathing sounds, bowel sounds, joint sounds, or heart beats, performs a type of mental auditory scene analysis. The clinician is trained to “listen” for certain types of expected sounds that can specifically lead to a proper diagnosis; those associated with the patients' health and well being. Through training, the clinician is taught to listen for certain disruptions or deviations of expected health body sounds. This act of listening (auscultation), directly or through a stethoscope or other instrument, to sounds within the body is a practical method of diagnosis.
Effectiveness of auscultation is however compromised in high environmental noise conditions, for example, in trauma centers, busy emergency rooms, and in the field, where various noises disrupt the listener's attention. It can be difficult for a clinician to discriminate and listen for subtle body sounds with competing sound sources, let alone, make a proper diagnosis. Also majority of the heart sound information is in the infrasound bandwidth below the human hearing threshold making it harder to diagnose a cardiovascular condition. Moreover, healthcare professionals with hearing impediment are limited in using auscultation as an effective technique for patient assessment.
Currently there are few useful models that can implement or realize auditory scene analysis. Fourier-type theory and computational auditory scene analysis techniques do not fully explain how the biological ear is able to “hear everything and listen to anything” even under very challenging environmental conditions—also known as the “cocktail party effect”.
A need therefore exists for sound analysis systems that enhance listening utility and assist the clinician in their practice.